European Union will provide EUR 50 million to further support decentralisation reform

The European Union continues the operation of the U-LEAD with Europe Programme and will provide EUR 50 million to Ukraine for the implementation of the Programme’s second phase. This was discussed during the meeting of Hennadii Zubko, Vice Prime Minister – Minister of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Communal Services of Ukraine, with the Head of the Support Group for Ukraine Peter Wagner and the Head of Cooperation of the EU Delegation to Ukraine Stefan Schleuning.

“We continue successful cooperation with the U-LEAD project. The road map of cooperation will remain the same, as the EU-Ukraine cooperation agreement with this project complies with the European Charter of Local Self-Government. By the end of January 2019, together with our international partners, we will prepare an operational plan of action-2020, and, based on it, we will propose the Central Reform Office structure. We have many new tasks – in particular, elaboration of electoral legislation and cartographic work to model processes in the oblasts,” said Hennadii Zubko.

The official said that today the country and in particular central and local authorities, the parliament, local self-government bodies are facing a number of dominant tasks, and their accomplishment is a successful implementation of the decentralisation reform. This means the formation of a new territorial basis and holding of the 2020 elections already on the new administrative and territorial map of Ukraine.

“In parallel, local self-government bodies, OSAs and more than 10 ministries have to move towards the formation of a subregional level and their own territorial structures. In 2020, the issue of new electoral legislation regarding local elections will arise. And we will propose changes to the law. We will insist on involving the public in the electoral process. We have 2 years for this. It is very little for such tectonic changes. But we have strong support from international partners. Thank you for 4 years of cooperation and for your faith in the reform!” Mr. Zubko emphasised.